Maybe I'm starting to sound like a shameless Elizabeth May fanboy but that's only because...I'm a shameless Elizabeth May fanboy! How can you not be when she gets up in the House, as she did Monday, and makes an epic speech like this?
The main point of her "point of order" is that the Conservative government's budget bill C-38 isn't fit to be called an omnibus bill, which is a bill that groups together changes to different legislation under a common theme. Bill C-38 changes so many different bills and aspects of government that it is more like a multi-year party agenda lumped into one yes or no question. May has put the question to the Speaker of the House to rule the bill "imperfect" and send it back to the government to be reworked.
The speech is one of the greatest pieces of parliamentary argument we've seen in a Ottawa since forever. The best part is that it's not just a cobbled together last-ditch argument. According to this fascinating discussion she had with Aaron Wherry she's been researching this issue of budget omnibus bills for over a year based on the previous growing size of these bills! She said,
"I expect that Speaker Scheer will do it justice. And that means listening to the arguments from the other parties in the House, constructing, researching and writing what will be, one way or the other, a precedent-setting decision."
Well let's hope so, either way, it's going to make next week an important one for our democracy.
So that's what Elizabeth May is doing to stop this insult to democracy. The main opposition parties will be trying other approaches to slow or split the bill such as putting forward hundreds of amendments and trying to filibuster the process. Ironically, they have less flexibility in the House than May because they were on the committees discussing this bill, they raised their arguments, were voted down by the majority Conservatives and get less chance to complain now that it's back in the House. Don't you love our system?
So you may be asking, "what can I do if I'm not a sitting member of parliament?" Well, the independent progressive activist organization LeadNow has an idea. You see, while the Conservatives have a majority of seats in parliament they only have 13 more seats than the other parties combined. Many Conservatives are just as upset about this budget fauxmnibus bill as progressives. Red Tories and Libertarians alike have lots be worried about with a huge bill that cuts social programs, undermines the good image of our nation and reduces the ability of opposition voices to be heard.
That's why LeadNow is calling for organized protests and letters next week targetting 13 Conservative party MPs to get them to be "heroes" and voice opposition to the budget. The idea, as I understand it, is not to get them to vote against the bill as a confidence motion, but rather to state that they would vote against it. This would force the government to withdraw the bill and rework it or split it up to satisfy the opposition.
Next week could be a great week for Canadian democracy, if any of these attempts to stop C-38 succeed then opponents will have demonstrated the robustness of our democracy; that a mere majority of seats isn't enough to steamroll over debate, tradition and fairness. On the other hand, if all these attempts fail and the bill passes it will send a chill over the country and set a precedent that will only be reversible by a significant electoral defeat four years from now.
So you know, no pressure.
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It's incredible that one MP operating on a skeleton crew in Ottawa has had the ability to not just launch this amazing parliamentary argument but ALSO research, draft, translate and have accepted by the Parliamentary drafting officials, 320 significant content AMENDMENTS which uphold the stated intent of the various parts of the bill but also preserve the environmental and social protections that Canadians need and deserve. Absolutely incredible. If we had more elected representatives like this sitting in the House, I suspect we'd have much higher voter turnout!
The rules account for this by giving the independents incredibly broad latitude to introduce amendments at the 3rd reading stage and in the general sitting stages of the bill's approval process. The reason she's making so many amendments is because the main parties are, by the rules of the House, forbidden from making similar substantive amendments. They're confined in number and scope of amendments.
Good on her overall - but don't think she's doing this alone, or that the rest of the opposition wouldn't be joining her if they could.
As well as the fact that she just may be the most irritating woman in Canada.
She drives me nuts.
She is even MORE irritating when she is right.
and she is, this time.
First clue: the name. They are grouped together under the title of ''Her Majestie's Loyal Opposition''.
Right there, you see it. They are the Opposition. It is in their job description to oppose things. This is not trivial. Along with the second clue (''Her Majestie's LOYAL Opposition), it is their duty to provide not merely a voice for those who did not vote for the governing party, but to uphold both the moral and legal positions held by those who voted for them, and for the country as a whole.
To advocate simply lying low between elections and allowing the government to rule by fiat, not even attempting to slow down and alter such legislation as the majority party sees fit to initiate, would be a gross derelection of their duties.
Moreover, to advocate such a thing would be to tacitly collude with the majority party to act as if the PM were a dictator, owing nothing to the rule of law or to the electorate, and to be a willing collaborator to the creation of a totalitarian state.
You may wish, therefore, to reconsider your position regarding the view that the Opposition is not composed of statespeople.
andrew.scheer@parl.gc.ca
And let him know how you feel!
I am encouraged by the many groups that have e-mailed me to take action under the slogans "Black Out Speak Out", "Silence is not an Option" and "13 Heros".
Perhaps Bill C-38 will be the catalyst that will restore the democratic institutions Elizabeth May continues to speak about.
So, who really is the cause of this? I submit that it is the opposition themselves that have given us this. Perhaps, if they were more like statepeople rather than politicians, it wouldn't have come to this.